Spring in Changgyeong Palace

Changgyeonggung's Great Glasshouse

I love spring. It is in fact, my favourite season. The gentle spring breeze, the abundant cherry blossom and when the pale pink petals catch the wind, I can’t help but mesmerized by the blizzard of sweet scented falling petals. Everything was just so magical, so helplessly romantic in the past two weeks. Though the cherry blossom season has already come to the end, I would like to share with you the photos from my latest spring outing to Changgyeonggung Palace (창경궁), one of the 5 grand palaces, located near Hyehwa Station, a.k.a Daehangno (대학로) area.

Changgyeonggung [read: Chang-gyung-gung] Palace, was originally a summer palace for the royal family. It is famed for its elegant east-meets-west architecture and beautiful royal garden — also one of my best photo location in Seoul. FYI, it has undergone several renovations during the Japanese occupation, from serving as a zoo to a botanical garden, then a museum and was severely destroyed throughout the tumultuous time.

One of the best photo location in the palace would be the Daeonsil (대온실), which is the country’s first Victorian-style great greenhouse. It was designed by Hayato Fukuba and built by a French company. One of the reasons why I like the Daeonsil is the ample sunlight coming from all angles, making your picture look wonderful, albeit being a little warm and humid inside.

The majority of the photos in the post are taken by Ke Chean Neoh, and I am always thankful for the effort and time he spent on the pictures, and for making me look much better. ; P

Although less crowded compared to Gyeongbok Palace, Changgyeonggung, especially the Daeonsil can get quite busy in the weekend. And when there is a huge crowd, the room gets even more humid and stuffy, which can be quite unpleasant. I would suggest you to visit the palaces on a weekday though all the palaces close every Monday — You may want to keep this in mind while planning your trip.

I am a huge fan for anything bright, vintage with a large amount of earth tone colour. This series of photos taken at the Daeonsil certainly appeals to me. I hope you enjoy spring as much as I do and please check back this blog for unique places to visit in Korea!